Boarding an airplane strikes at least a small sense of fear into most people. Even though we all have heard that the odds of being struck by lightning are greater than the odds of perishing in a plane crash, it still doesn't feel that way. Airplane crashes might be rare, but they do happen, and they’re usually fatal. David Soucie insists that most of these deaths could be prevented. He’s worked as a pilot, a mechanic, an FAA inspector, and an aviation executive. He’s seen death up close and personal - deaths of colleagues and friends that might have been prevented if he had approved certain safety measures in the aircrafts they were handling.

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Audible Editor Reviews

David Soucie, an aviation safety inspector and advisor on safety management to many groups, including the federal government, brings extensive experience to the writing of his impassioned memoir of his fight to make the skies safer. Elegantly performed in a normal-guy tone by Mike Chamberlain, Soucie’s audiobook is filled with up close and personal stories of harrowing tragedies and near misses. While everyone shudders at the thought of an airplane crash, preventing such crashes is Soucie’s career and purpose. Listeners will hear not only the heartrending losses but will also learn some of the physics of flight and will become inspired by the prospects for future flight safety.

Publisher's Summary

Boarding an airplane strikes at least a small sense of fear into most people. Even though we all have heard that the odds of being struck by lightning are greater than the odds of perishing in a plane crash, it still doesn't feel that way. Airplane crashes might be rare, but they do happen, and they’re usually fatal. David Soucie insists that most of these deaths could be prevented. He’s worked as a pilot, a mechanic, an FAA inspector, and an aviation executive. He’s seen death up close and personal - deaths of colleagues and friends that might have been prevented if he had approved certain safety measures in the aircrafts they were handling. His years of experience have led Dave to become an impassioned consultant on the topic of airline safety. This includes not only advising the Obama administration, but also taking a leading role in the congressionally funded NextGen interdepartmental initiative in regards to both the department of transportation and the departments of defense, homeland security, FBI, CIA, and others. Find out the truth about airplane safety and discover what the future holds for air travel.

The author was trained or worked as an airplane or helicopter mechanic for several years before getting into flight safety full time. He describes the evolution of his awareness of flight safety and also the background of airplane crashes in which we was on the investigative team. If you are interested in airline safety or safety in general, this will be of interest to you. He does name names and complain about people in the industry, so he will make some enemies. He also seems to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder, but, if you can ignore that, this will be a fascinating read or listen.

I've been an Airworthiness ASI since 2009 working for the FAA, and I can't tell you in words how much this book has inspired me. I like you Mr. Soucie, aspire to make aviation safer. Even though I may not have your broad experiences and forward vision, I do everything within my ability to uphold our mutual core safety responsibilities and safety first mentality with management levels of the FAA and with the Part 121 Operator. It was a pleasure to read from the man whose hard work and participation creating the use of automated tools (ATOS, PTRS, SAS, and others), has given me the ability to do my job better. I myself have thought outside the box, by creating some of my own data sheets to glean more target specific information from databases, Airline reports, and other sources of information. I recommend this book to be read by every ASI in the FAA, or any other person, or entity that plays a role in aviation safety.

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